The proposal was for the Strike Cruiser to be a guided missile attack cruiser with a displacement of around 17,200 long tons (17,500 t), armed and equipped with the Aegis combat system, the SM-2, Harpoon anti-ship missile, the Tomahawk missile, and the Mk71 8-inch gun.

A prototype strike cruiser was to be the refurbished USS Long Beach; at a cost of roughly $800 million, however this never came to pass.

Originally, eight to twelve strike cruisers were projected.

The class would have been complemented by the Aegis-equipped fleet defense (DDG-47) version of the Spruance-class destroyer.

Plagued with design difficulties and escalating cost, the project was canceled in the closing days of the Ford administration.